mmm-yoso!!!

Opera Patisseries Fines- Part Two-Lunches

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog.  Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy finding things to write about and Cathy has things to write about. Here you go.

Hi Again.  When Kirk and His Missus were on vacation in China, I wrote about breakfast at Opera Patisserie and told you I'd write about lunch. Quick like a bunny, in my painstakingly methodical way, here are photos of some of those non-breakfast meals. Opera is only open six days a week, for breakfast and lunch and serves its breakfasty menu items after 1:30 in the afternoon. We have never had a bad meal here and  this was one of our 'joint' choices of meals to share the week between our birthdays. 
 One item I did not mention, which is usually sold out by lunch time is the house made almond croissant ($2.49 and so worth it). 

Flaky, crispy and billowy layers and layers of buttery goodness, filled with a delightful not too sweet marzipan. An excellent treat or meal...
My other post had shown an egg white omelette filled with mushroom, asparagus and tomato and here is a photo of a 'regular' (eggs with yolk) omelette with the same fillers (same price of $8.95).  I actually like the egg white omelette better...but am not complaining about this one, which was a lunch for me one day, served with a salad and fried Yukon Gold potatoes topped with a parmesan cheese.
The Quiche Lorraine can be a breakfast or lunch dish here.  It is perfect.  The buttery, flaky crust.  A  thin layer of just enough nutty flavored Swiss cheese.  The pancetta.  The nutmeg flavor in the custard. Bits of onion...wonderful!
The crepes- Chicken curry ($8.50)...that is a curry white wine sauce.  The crepes are thin yet don't fall apart.   
They were filled with pieces of roasted chicken breast, red bell peppers, cooked tomatoes, Gruyére cheese and some fresh herbs. Nicely flavored, not spicy. Not too rich.  The spring salad is topped with a mustard vinaigrette.
Here is a better photo of my half order of Ahi Niçoise Salad ($ 6.50).  It is served in a rather large bowl.  The spring mix of lettuces is also mixed with Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, red bell peppers,  olives and topped with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Opera Patisserie 9254 Scranton Road San Diego 92121 (858) 458-9050 Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

Road Trip: Dim Sum at Sea Harbour - Rosemead (Los Angeles)

Today, stewing in my triple-digit-temperature sodden juices, I had the evil idea of doing a post on my latest bowl of Bun Bo Hue, or perhaps another Pho post. But just the thought of looking at a photo of a steaming bowl of Pho, was just a bit too much for me. So instead, let's just go directly to our current favorite Dim Sum Restaurant, Sea Harbour in Rosemead. When folks say they're going to LA, and want a recommendation for Dim Sum, I'll usually recommend Sea Harbour. Heck, when Ed from Yuma, wanted a couple of recommendations for Seafood Restaurants in LA, Sea Harbour was on that short list. And based on his post, Ed really enjoyed his meal at Sea Harbour. And if you needed another seal of approval, during our visit to Urasawa, Hiro-san himself told me that his favorite restaurant is Sea Harbour. Need I say more? You probably notice a dearth of posts on Dim Sum in San Diego...... that's mainly because the wild swings in quality and mixed experiences over the years have made us a bit "gun shy", after all, the usual layout of funds for a good dim sum meal, exceeds the risk associated with a good bowl of soup! Especially when the return on investment for dim sum in San Diego during the last few years have crashed faster than the stock market.....

On weekends there will usually always be a wait at Sea Harbour..... even if you arrive before the 1030 am opening, it's likely you'll be standing behind someone who got there even earlier than you. Still, if you get there before 11am, on a normal weekend, it's likely the wait won't be too long. Turnover is very quick here.....

Like Elite and Happy Harbour, Sea Harbour does Dim Sum the upscale "menu style". The check off list is quite large at about 130 items....

It's always quite an effort to decide on what to eat. As much as Siu Mai would seem a "no-brainer", a visit to Sea Harbour is something of a special meal for us, so I've yet to have that here. The standard Char Siu Bao, is usually persona non-grata during our Dim Sum meals, as the Missus hails from Shandong and Beijing, and the dough is much too sweet for Her tastes.

So we tend toward the dishes that are not quite the norm for a typical Dim Sum meal. On this day, things started off with the Baby Pak Choy with Ginko and Bean Curd Sheets:

This was almost an entree sized dish. The pak choy was prepared perfectly, still crunchy, not saturated. We both love bean curd sheets. The broth was a light, but tasty chicken stock. The only negative for us in this dish were the ginko nuts. They were very bitter. I have been using ginko nuts a lot recently, and immediately knew these were not prepared well, the texture was mushy, and the flavor unpleasant. Still, the pak choy was good, even as leftovers.

The Shrimp, Dry Scallop, and Chinese Celery Dumplings were excellent.

Over the years, I've resigned myself to either overly sticky, or brittle and ripped wrappers for steamed dumplings. These on the other hand were perfect; with just enough pull. The amount of Chinese Celery was just right, adding that wonderful palate cleansing effect. The size of the cut was good as well; you knew you were having Chinese Celery. The shrimp was flavorful; and even though we really couldn't make out a dried scallop umami, the proportion of the other ingredients was just right for our tastes. We really should be having more of the steamed dumplings at Sea Harbour.

Though it's really hard when you see stuff like Foie-Gras Minced Beef with Spinach on the menu.

I was surprised that you could really make out the flavor of goose liver in this. The spinach was good quality, and not bitter in the least. A rich, but good dish.

We were split on the Cheong Fun with Bittermelon and Chicken.

The Missus thought that while the bittermelon was perfectly cooked, it was much too bitter for Her. I on the other hand enjoyed this. We both thought that the sauce for the Cheong Fun had a good salty-sweet balance to it.

The biggest disappointment of the day were the French Style Goose Liver Won Ton.

Very bland won tons (where was the goose liver?), in an insipid broth. This dish was very disappointing, as both the won tons and the broth lacked flavor.

Second place for most disappointing dish was the Fish Cake with Corn and Peas.

Which also suffered from the blandness bugaboo. This one almost got me to request soy sauce and chili paste, which is not provided on each table like the typical Dim Sum Restaurant. I can understand the desire to have each customer taste the real flavor and quality of each item ordered. But man, this was fairly tasteless.

The Missus and I were split on the Pan Grilled Spinach Pork Bun.

The Missus thought these were too sweet (of course), and too light and fluffy (???). I thought the sweetness wasn't over-powering, and really enjoyed the shrimp in the Buns. I'd have these again, but don't think the Missus would allow me to order them.

As a whole, we really enjoyed this meal, and ended up with some leftovers. And even though we ordered several of the most expensive items on the Dim Sum menu, our bill came out to a tad over $40, much less then we had expected spending.

Leaving, we noticed the huge crowd waiting outside the restaurant, braving temperatures that were surely approaching a hundred degrees. It left me wondering if I'd be willing to wait in this heat. Perhaps not, but we still think of Sea Harbour as one of the better spots for Dim Sum.

I'm always attracted to the "Chicken in the parking lot" here, and am racking my brains to recall what this place was before Sea Harbour. Maybe you'll be able to tell me.....

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Tip Top Meats and a birthday breakfast

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Just a way for you to peek at what a few people eat.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are not blogging today.  Cathy is.

Hi.  Another year has passed and it has been time for the week of feasting for The Mister and me.  Yes.  He was born exactly a week before I was. This year, our birthdays fell on a Sunday.  Our 'tradition' is that he gets to choose where he wants to eat the first three days (Sun-Mon-Tues), we have to agree where and what to eat the middle two days, and I get to choose where I want to eat the last three days. I have photos of all the meals, but will start with my birthday meal first.  Because there are no rules.

 I chose Tip Top Meats, in Carlsbad, just off the Interstate 5 at Palomar Airport Road. Vicky did a post with us about Tip Top and a delightful dinner more than three years ago and also explained a few things, like it is an Old Fashioned meat store.
 
Which also makes their own sausages. 
  
Smokes their meats in house. 

  Has one whole aisle shelf of just licorice for sale.
Another aisle of beers for sale.
Right across from the two aisles of wine.  There is a lot more interesting inventory stuff, even though the store seems not too large.  I find all sorts of interesting, familiar and new European and Mediterranean products here in addition to all the meats.  But really, just walk to the left(West) of the store from the entrance/exit doors.
Look up.  There is a menu.
Follow the people waiting in line, just past the refrigerated glass case with fresh pastries and pre-made side salads is the cash register, where you order, pay, get a number and get a coffee cup, which you will fill when you walk into the open seating dining area, which I did not take a photo of because it was crazy crowded at 8:36 on a Sunday morning (The store and dining area open at 6 a.m. daily) when our number was 114.
Since it was my birthday, I did eat my breakfast pastry first.  A fresh, flaky traditional(made with raisins) slice of apple strudel ($2.49) with a cup of coffee ($1.79). {On our very first date, The Mister and I went to a German restaurant in Ann Arbor and shared a piece of apple strudel for dessert.} 
The Mister ordered the Steak and Eggs ($8.98)- two poached eggs, rye toast, wonderful, crispy, nicely seasoned home fried potatoes and a 6 ounce, perfectly medium-rare cooked Delmonico Steak.  Yes Delmonico, which is essentially a boneless rib eye, but how that cut was referred to decades ago.  (I did say it was an Old Fashioned meat store there at the start of this post...)
I got exactly what I craved- the European Continental breakfast ($7.49). I almost always order this, because the first time I did, decades ago, the meat I got was in-house made Head Cheese, which was perfect.  I know some of you may not know what Head Cheese is, but I bet a lot of you would like it, especially the Tip Top version. (Head Cheese is not cheese, it is an aspic filled with sliced head meat and maybe heart and feet  from a cow, calf, pig or sheep and seasoned with onion, allspice, salt and pepper).  This time, as a perfect meal for my birthday, the plate came with three slices of a nutty swiss cheese, five slices of a really great Black Forest Ham and about ten slices of hard salami...all my favorites!  (I always buy ham and hard salami whenever I get deli meats) Two crusty French rolls accompanied the plate. It was the start of a nice day.

Tip Top Meats 6118 Paseo Del Norte Carlsbad 92011 (760)438-2620 Open 6 a.m.-8 p.m., seven days  Website

 

Scenes from A Taste of Korea Harvest & Wine Festival

I'm sure you could tell from this post, that I was fascinated with the "Taste of Korea Harvest and Wine Festival". So yesterday, I parked in Old Town, and took the trolley down to the Gaslamp.

 
And got off at the Convention Center stop, which is but a few steps from the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center.

The event was combination of a wine tasting, cooking contest, and a celebration of Chuseok, the Korean Harvest Festival.

 

The schedule looked pretty jam packed, with the tasting of three wines, entertainment, food, and three culinary challenge matches.

Arriving early, I had a chance to chat briefly with Cathlyn Choi. Energetic, with a great sense of humor, Cathlyn managed doing several things at once, all while dressed in a formal Hanbok on one of the hottest days of the year!  

There were three different wines featured during the event; first a Makkoli, a rice wine.

Which was quite refreshing. This wine is made by fermented rice and water, and looks very much like Nigori Sake. It is not quite as sweet, and the alcohol content in Makkoli is a bit lower than Nigori. In fact, I like this a bit more than Nigori Sake. It is easy to drink.

The second wine was a Bek Se Ju, made from glutinous rice flavored with ginseng and other herbs, this was quite medicinal, but ok overall. The last wine was a Bok Bun Ja, a raspberry wine that was a bit too sweet for my tastes. It was fun trying these out, and I think I'll be getting some Makkoli for the Missus one of these days.

Of course there was food......

My favorite item was the Dduk Boki which Cathlyn made, there was also food provided by some pretty familiar names......

 
There was also entertainment, which included a Gayaguem performance.

And a very enjoyable performance by Fairfax High School's Korean Drum Group.

 
Of course, I was most interested in the cooking contest. Even though the six Chefs competing aren't quite household names, by the end of the evening it was pretty obvious that they all had some cooking chops.

I snagged a seat at the table right behind the judges, the most well known to food folks might be Myung Sook Lee, who is most well known for Her appearance on the original Japanese version of Iron Chef. You can see a video of her match against Chen Kenichi in the "Liver Battle" here. Chef Lee, is also the Executive Chef of Soban Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. She is also a force of nature, and was all over the place during the matches, often stepping behind the counter to sample and sniff sauces, give advice, and watch what the chefs were doing up close.

She also looked like one tough customer who could snap me in two over her knee should she so desire. Folks in San Diego would probably also recognize C S Keys.

My personal favorite judge was FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice Woo.

The rules of challenge itself was fun. Each of the six chefs picked a slip from a bag. A different traditional Korean Dish or food item was on each slip. The chefs were divided into twos with thirty minutes to make the dish. A basket of ingredients was provided for each chef. What was very entertaining was that several of the chefs had never seen nor eaten the dish assigned to them!

The first two up were Jean-Michel Gottlieb who owns Bella Catering and Phillip Soriano Sous Chef at the Marine Room.

 
So how's this for a challenge, Chef Jean-Michel was to make Japchae, but he had never even heard of the dish! Given the ingredients, Chef Jean-Michel made what looked like deconstructed Japchae, with all the ingredients prepared seperately. The two other Judges, Sookhee Jung, Food Columnist for The Korean Times and Ena Yu, Columnist for The Korea Daily, found his dish a fascinating take on Japchae.

 

Chef Phillip was to make BiBimBap, and by the look of his dish, it was quite apparent that he's had his share of BiBimBap as his version looked the most like the traditional dish.

The next pair up were Lance Roll, aka The Flavor Chef, who is quite a character. He had selected KimChi...... and had to pull that off in 30 minutes! Alongside Chef Roll was Pam Schwartz, CIA Graduate and Program Coodinator for Sur La Table. 

Chef Pam used a handy dandy Vacu Vin Instant Marinator to get her selection of Bulgogi ready in fifteen minutes. She got positive nods from the Judges for her addition of Sesame leaves for wrapping the bulgogi.

Chef Lance, who had the task of making KimChi, used a quick saute with garlic and oter seasonings to get his Kimchi started. He also added bell peppers, utilized the freezer to bring everything to temp, and a creative presentation to complete his dish.

His dish was most surprising, as I got a taste of it. It was quite good, and tasted like good tsukemono! Pretty amazing for something made in 30 minutes! He really got the judges attention with his effort.

Next up were Chef Maria Sparks, co-owner of Cork and Platter, and Rene Fernandez. Chef Maria had Dak Galbi, and had no idea what that was! Still she was a very good sport, and seemed to have fun with the dish.

She added a very different ingredient to her chicken stir-fry....... Curry! Which drew some ooohs from the Korean women sitting on the table behind me.

In the end, the finished product  was very tasty, and I really loved her presentation.

Chef Rene had Dduk Boki on his hands......

And I enjoyed his hearty, soulful version of this dish the most of what I was able to taste.

 
I'm not going to tell you who won.... since this is going to be televised, I'll ask Cathlyn if I can reveal the winner.

Though the event ran pretty long, I hope Cathlyn does this again.... and lets me know about it!

So I can let you all know about!

Purple Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Dressing

This was the purple cabbage dish we were served during the family dinner in Jinan. It really caught our attention, and it has become a pretty regular item at home. It is very simple, and can be put together in just a few minutes.

 

The dressing itself has basically five items, but everything comes through real well. The key item is using a good, pure sesame paste, which provides a wonderful savory - nutty flavor. The oil in the sesame paste also acts like an emulsifier. Chinese black vinegar and white sugar are the other two key components. The surprise is the addition of wasabi, which gives the dressing real zip. Everything is balanced out with some sea salt, and that's it.

I start with 3 tablespoons of well mixed sesame paste (remember to mix the sesame paste well, since the oil has usually separated in the bottle). I add an equal amount of white sugar, then 1/3 cup of Chinese Black Vinegar, and combine well. I taste and make adjustments to our taste(you may need to add sugar or vinegar), and suggest that you do the same. The "dressing" needs to be pourable. I then add some wasabi paste to taste, and finish up with sea salt. It's not the prettiest looking concoction.

I finely shred/slice half a head of purple cabbage. The Missus likes the cabbage sliced finely. In Jinan, the cabbage was blanched, but we've found that a fine slice does just fine.

I combine the cabbage with 3/4 of the dressing, mix well, and put in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, to let the flavors meld. After the short chill, I add about a handful of chopped cilantro leaves and 2-3 bunches of finely sliced scallions (green parts only). I mix, then adjust with more dressing if necessary and more salt. I add a sprinkle of sesame seed to top things off. This will keep for a day or two, (or maybe three) if refrigerated.

Easy, huh? I feel almost guilty doing an entire post on this, but it is quite good.

A couple of notes; I quarter the half of the cabbage I use and cut off the tough core. If you can't get good quality Chinese Black Vinegar, you can use Japanese Rice Vinegar, but cut the sugar in half before combining, then add more if necessary. We were told that finely julienned and blanched carrots are a good addition. I'm sure you can think of other good additions to this. We also had a version of this in Beijing, so stay tuned for that post.

Jinan: The Family Dinner

While we were being chauffeured around on our whirlwind tour of Jinan; the Missus's Foodie Uncle and Aunt were hard at work in the kitchen of the Missus's Grandmother's Sister. Well practiced hands were at work, creating dishes for a family dinner, moving with a well coordinated confidence that indicated a familiarity with the kitchen and the dishes that were being created.

There were a couple of dishes that were delightfully surprising; and one that brought back great memories for the Missus.

Everything started with Tofu with Xiang Chun Ya, a light coating of sesame oil adding a layer of flavor to the herbaceous Xiang Chun.

 
This started a parade of dishes......

I never got the name of this green vegetable.... fried in a light and crisp batter....it was so good!

The Xiang Chun Ya deep fried with a tempura like batter was amazingly good!

There were some really great dishes appearing out of the humble kitchen......

But there were two that were remarkably memorable for us.

I seem to pick up at least one dish from almost everywhere we travel. Something that becomes a fairly regular item in our household. This was such a dish. It looks very simple, and actually is, but the flavors are wonderful.....

Yes, it is purple cabbage. But the sauce used was fabulous; sesame paste, sugar, and black vinegar, hits on the savory-sweet-sour flavor profile. But it was the addition of one surprise ingredient that got my attention....... wasabi! I remember taking my first bite, and telling the Missus, "this is great..... but I swear there's wasabi in this." Which the Missus verified. In this case the cabbage is blanched; when we've been making it at home, we just slice the cabbage a bit thinner, and serve it raw. We had this dish at a restaurant in Beijing a bit later on, but this was a better, more complex version. Now that I've done this post, I can share the recipe in the near future.

The Missus reacquainted Herself with a dish that had faded from Her memory.

These cakes are made with glutinous corn meal, studded with dried dates, and steamed. Sweet and savory, it's like a moister-sweeter wo-wo tou. The fragrance is memorable, as is the density of these cakes. It was so filling I could only manage half a cake...... but no worries, the Missus finished Hers, and then put my remaining half away with no problem. The Missus later told me that these are even better the next day, when they are sliced, fried, and covered in sugar! I can only say that these were way better than anything resembling a wo-wo tou I've ever had.

There was something I learned in our time in QingDao and Jinan, it was the strength of family. You see, I was brought up in a single parent household, and my mother never did keep in really close contact with our relatives. Over the years I have come to treasure my good friends, they are like my family, and I have been blessed to know such wonderful people. But here, in a country six thousand miles away from home, the power of family was taught to me. Distance and time are just numbers, a strong sense of family supersedes all numbers..........

While sitting in the airport in Jinan, the Missus and I lamented the biggest mistake we made on this trip.....

Which was only spending one night in Jinan. We both wished that we had planned for more time. It's a mistake we won't make next time!

Pho-raging around Oceanside: I Love Pho and Mr Pho

A couple of weeks ago, DavidD emailed me asking me why I'd do a post on Pho in Rancho Bernardo, and stop there...... explaining to me that there were several Pho shops in Oceanside. And he had a point, why shouldn't I grab some Pho in Oceanside.... even though the names of the restaurants were kinda cheesy, like "I Love Pho" and "Yummy Pho"..... I guess a simple name like "Pho Oceanside" just would not do. Well, it wasn't the most provocative name, but still, "Mr Pho?"  I tried to keep a straight face when I entered the parking lot and saw the huge "I Love Pho" sign.... though to think about it; I do love Pho.

This fairly large shop was nicely decorated, and even had a faux ("Pho" ?) pond and bridge set-up at it's entrance.

The menu had all the basic items on it; Pho, Bun, and Com(rice). Knowing that this would not be the place serving decent "Tai" (rare steak), I went with the Well Done Steak, Flank, Tendon, Brisket, and Tripe ($5.75).

One look at the pitiful garnishes, and I knew that this wasn't going to be the place for me. And the broth proved me right, being fairly cloudy, and pretty weak with regards to any other flavor than sodium.

The flank was tender and had decent flavor. The same with the brisket. Which had obviously been simmered in something other than this broth.

The tripe was pretty tough, and there was only a tiny piece of tendon in the bowl. The clump of noodles was prepared decently, and not over cooked like many places.

And as a bonus, I got this piece of inedible cow.....

 
During my meal, I watched the very nice gentleman work the room, engaging all the customers with small talk. He seemed a really nice guy, but still, I don't think I can bring myself to walk across that "faux" pond and bridge for another bowl of Pho. Too bad, because I really wanted to like this place.

I Love Pho
3809 Plaza Drive
Oceanside, CA 92056

Make a U-turn, and head up and over the 78, and eventually you'll hit Oceanside Boulevard. The first Pho place I came across was Yummy Pho. Unfortunately, they weren't open yet. So I headed up Oceanside Boulevard until I came across Mr Pho.

 
Squeezed in between a taco shop and a Thai Restaurant, Mr Pho is the antithesis of I Love Pho, it is small, simply and spartanly decorated, and truly bare bones. The logo of "Mr Pho" features the caricature of a jolly smiling man with a chef's toque holding a bowl of with wisps of steam rising into the air. Don't bother looking for him among the employees, he ain't here.....it's all business.  The typical Pho shop business model seemed in place here.

I placed the same order here, it was 25 cents cheaper.

When my plate of basil and bean sprouts arrived fresh and shining, I thought I'd take a chance. I asked if they had Ngo Gai (Saw leaf herb) which was met with a puzzled look.... I'm guessing I was just of the wrong nationality. Finally, the young man nodded "no" and walked off.

The broth here was more to my taste, with hints of anise and clove. It was a bit on the salty side, so I had to use a bit of lime to cut the salt. The broth was a bit richer than I Love Pho's version, though both were pretty low on oil.

The noodles were over-cooked and mushy, but the most of the meat was well prepared. The tripe was especially good on this day.

The only thing that I didn't care for was the tendon, which was too hard and tough.

Still, this wasn't a bad bowl, and if you don't mind the typical "A-B" (All business) model, you might get a decent bowl here.

Mr Pho Vietnamese Cuisine
4750 Oceanside Blvd
Oceanside, CA 92056

On the way back to the freeway, a shop caught my eye.

It looks like maybe Chamorro Food in Oceanside? Maybe I should get up here more often........

Sagmani's Restaurant - El Cajon

It had been while since I had a kebab, so I thought I'd head on down to El Cajon, home to the second largest Iraqi population in the US (next to Detroit). The mostly Chaldean Iraqi community has turned El Cajon's Main Street into a parade of Halal meat shops, markets, and kebab shops, providing a kind of ethnic vibrance, albiet a very laid back vibe, to the street. My initial thought was to hit my favorite spot, Village Grill. I gave my good friend JohnL a call, but he was tied up with work, so I headed down to El Cajon solo. While driving, I decided to check out someplace I hadn't been to. I drove past a restaurant I'd seen a few months earlier, but it had shut down, and was being replaced by "Nahrain Fish and Chicken Restaurant", which was not yet opened. Then I recalled a place I saw during one of our visits to Athena Market..... the shop was behind the market, away from the main drag. It is called Sagmani's Restaurant.

A few months back, I was talking to someone about all these Iraqi/Kebab Restaurants in El Cajon, and was taken aback when told, "I'd be afraid to go there..... I don't think I'd be welcome." I explained that my experiences, like what happened at Ali Baba were just the opposite of what she thought. Even though many of the men were fairly stoic, the women are warm and welcoming.... which turned out to be untrue based on this visit to Sagmani's. I was greeted by a jolly gentleman, who smiled and said "welcome....have you had kebob before?" I answered in the positive, and looked over the menu, which like many of these restaurants is compact, but deceivingly varied, with tekka, kebabs, stews, kubba(kibbeh), and even grilled quail and cornish hens. Looking over the menu, I just couldn't make up my mind....so the gentleman made it easy for me....."I'll make you one beef, and one chicken, and you can tell me which you like better.... how does that sound?" Well, it sounded just right to me.

The interior of Sagmani's is much smaller than it appears from the outside, only a couple of four tops, and two large, almost communal tables. But based on the table-tops laying against the corner, I'm guessing that they can accommodate a pretty sizable crowd if necessary.

I had a seat, and the very nice, but quiet young lady brought me some water, and asked me if I'd like to have some tea. And soon enough I was brought some.

Here's my Beef and Chicken Kabob:

Let's work around the protein first...... I really liked the "turshi" aka pickle, which was the pickled tumeric cabbage, which was really good, not too sour, and full of flavor. The salad was your basic plain lettuce dressed with a bit of olive oil and vinegar. The rice was moist, and had a nice savory flavor, almost like some kind of stock was used to make it.

On to the Kabobs.......

I really couldn't decided which I enjoyed more; the beef was fairly mellow, with just a touch of herbaceousness.... but man it was moist and tender. I could cut it easily with a fork. I loved that sumac was sprinkled liberally over the kabobs as that added even more flavor to them. On occasion, I've had a kabob that has what I call a "negative gamey flavor", which is that slightly off flavor of meat that is starting to head South..... this tasted clean. The chicken had more flavor, and did well with the char. It was also moist, but as with chicken, it was not as tender as the beef. It did have good flavor, though!

The only major item I didn't care for here was the bread.

Which were basically pita, and were pretty tough........

I would like to mentioned the service, which I thought was wonderful. When the young lady saw me finish my water; she brought me an entire pitcher. I was checked on twice by the young lady, first to see if I wanted more bread; second to see if I wanted more tea. The gentleman came by to make sure I was enjoying my meal. I was surprised to find that I wasn't charged for my tea..... the entire meal came out to $7, the price of a sandwich in most of San Diego....... And from the various signs, they've got a slew of deals going on, from 99 cent kabobs to Monday and Tuesday lunch specials..... there's quite a bit of competition in the area.

So where do I place Sagmani's compared with the other Iraqi Kabob shops in the area? I still think the bread at Ali Baba is the best, followed by Hammurabi. For protein, my favorite with regards to flavor is Village Grill(and they make the best okra stew). Still the kabobs here were the most tender I've had to date, and I thought the rice was very good. And I'll go back, I'd like to chat with the really nice guy who made my kabobs.......   

Sagmani's Restaurant
478 West Douglas St
El Cajon, CA 92020

Iceberg Lettuce Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Have I ever mentioned that I sometimes prefer cookbooks with no photos? You see, the Missus doesn't give cookbooks with little or no photos the time of day. But when She gets Her mitts on cookbooks with great photos, She'll get fixated on one, or more of the recipes, and request, nay demand that I attempt to make what was requested. Most of the time I'm able to pull off a reasonable facsimile of the dish.... but nothing sends chills down my spine when I see Her grabbing one of Thomas Keller's cookbooks. Lucky for me; this time around it was Ad Hoc at Home, and not the French Laundry Cookbook or Bouchon. I've made a couple of things from Ad Hoc at Home, and find that many of the recipes are very accessible. And if you want mighty fine fried chicken, check out the Buttermilk Fried Chicken recipe in the book.

The Missus has a strange affinity for Blue Cheese Dressing and Wedge Salads, so when She saw the photo of the iceberg lettuce slices..... it was all blue cheese dressing and iceberg lettuce salad all of the time. This time I didn't just jump up and run to the market grabbing the closest head of lettuce, which made the Missus kinda wonder why....... perhaps She envisioned that we'd fanned the flames of our love of food a bit too hard and it had gone out. But that wasn't really the reason, which I'll detail a bit later. About a week later, on a Sunday, when I grilled up a mess of veggies for the Missus to eat on sandwiches for the upcoming week, I made my dressing (actually the night before) and the Missus had Her salad.

You see the reason that the Missus didn't get instant salad was that I had something brewing up in the deep and mildly warm recesses of the mmm-yoso household. Looking over the Blue Cheese Dressing recipe in Ad Hoc, I noticed something that I thought would really make this dressing...... creme fraiche. So while the Missus was stewing, the creme fraiche was, well, fermenting.

The recipe for the dressing is pretty much the same as what's in the book. I omitted the flat leaf parsley, and adjusted the flavor for our taste. I could have made my own aioli, but decided on not messing with eggs right now. In his book, Thomas Keller uses his Buttermilk Dressing as the base for the Blue Cheese Dressing. We both loved the hint of mint in the dressing, it really worked well.

Blue Cheese Buttermilk Dressing

1 cup Best Foods mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 tsp minced chives
1 tsp minced mint leaves
6 oz decent quality blue cheese (please, no prepackaged crumbles ok?)

- Put the mayo in a bowl and whisk in the buttermilk and creme fraiche.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except the blue cheese and mix well.
- Taste and adjust flavors.
- Crumble the blue cheese. It might be kind of sticky and messy, but that's ok.
- Stir in the blue cheese and whisk together. You can use the whisk to break down the Blue Cheese.

I'd say allow for the flavors to meld overnight. If the dressing is too thick, you can add in buttermilk to thin it out.

As for the salad........

You'll notice those tomatoes don't look very pretty....... during my grilling session I cut two tomatoes into about 1 1/2 inch slices, rubbed them with garlic olive oil, seasoned with salt and oregano and grilled them up. Thomas Keller uses oven roasted tomatoes, but this was during the time when it pretty warm around here, and I just didn't feel like using the oven. 

The missus prefers her bacon crisp, so I deviated from Thomas Keller's technique of rendering the fat off of the lardons without making the bacon too crisp.

Instead I used thick cut bacon from Seisel's.

The bread was interesting. I'd bought the usual double loaf of the routine roasted garlic La Brea Bakery loaves with the intent of making croutons, and using the rest for the Missus's sandwiches. Unfortunately, the Missus was adamant about NOT wanting croutons, or pretty much any bread near, or around Her salad. So to "fix Her wagon", I rubbed roasted garlic olive oil on some slices of bread and toasted them. When the slices were toasted, I drizzled Truffle Oil on them....... and of course the Missus couldn't resist that! Who could? Slices of avocado finished the salad, and we finished all the dressing in three days.......

And the veggies I roasted on the grill didn't last too long either.......

And in case you're feeling bad for me having to eat all this salad... don't.

Looks almost like fairly well marbled beef, doesn't it? When buying the bacon I had thoughts of making some thick cut pork chops with a spicy hoisin glaze...... when I saw these beautiful looking Eden Farms Berkshire (Kurobuta) Loin Chops, which made all the "other white meat" around them look positively pale and weak. These were delicious... and no, I didn't ruin them with any glaze; I just seasoned with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, and after giving them some nice color, I threw some soaked oak chips on the coals and covered the chops up for the last seven or so minutes....... man, these were good!

Jinan: Daming Lake Park and more beer in a bag.....

After a sumptuous banquet lunch, while Her Mother and Aunts  socialized and rested, one of Her Jinan Uncles took us on what could only be termed as a whirlwind tour of Jinan. We made several stops, including Spring City Square.

Our favorite stop by far was Daming Lake Park (大明湖公园).

 
 At the center of the huge park is Daming Lake, a natural lake formed by several springs. Jinan is often called the "City of Springs" due to the number of artesian springs in the city. The park has been expanded and renovated recently, and admission to the park is free.

There are numerous islands, pavilions, and temples, including the largest Taoist temple in Jinan.

There are also a number of gardens, which made one of the Missus's uncles exclaim, "you don't need to go to Suzhou, our gardens here are beautiful enough!"

After visiting Suzhou, I'm not quite sure I agree.... though the grounds of the park are quite scenic and beautiful.

Considering Jinan's size and population (over 6 million), I was fascinated when the Missus's Uncle pointed out the old city wall. Daming Lake is pretty much in the center of Jinan.... to think that Jinan was once this small....

On the way back to meet the family, we stopped at this shop to purchase some special Jinan Shaobing for the Missus's Mother and Aunts to take back to QingDao.

There were two types, sweet and savory..... The savory version tasted almost like Lavosh......

Along the way back, we also stopped for this......of course!

Jinan has its own local beer, Baotuquan, which the locals claim is much richer and better tasting than Tsingtao (of course again). Since the temperatures were hitting the mid-nineties, this made for a perfect stop.

When we asked if we could take photos, the woman running the stand gave us an approving nod, telling the Missus, "oh yes, it's free advertising!" The second time we heard this on our trip. I really enjoyed the straightforward wholesomeness of the folks in Shandong. They always seemed to have time for a good laugh.

 

 After a nice mug of beer, we got some beer in a bag to go, and headed off to the Missus's Grandmother's Sister's place. We drove along, holding a bag of beer aloft in the car.......

If you've ever wondered what those nails pounded into the side of tables are for....... well, it's there to hang your bag of beer of course! And the Missus's Uncles are pros at pouring beer from a bag into a glass.

Baotuquan has its own unique flavor, a bit more like a lager, a bit more "hoppish" than Tsingtao.

 We noticed that everyone in the family drank their beer from unrefrigerated bottles. When the Missus asked why, we were told that drinking beer cold was not healthy, it made one cough.... room temperature beer was more healthy!

While having our beer we could smell wonderful fragrances coming from the kitchen, the two "cooks" in the family were hard at work, and we were about to have a fantastic meal! Stay tuned for that post.